Welcome Home Remus
by Anti-Form Sora
Summary: After a quick bout of emo-ing, I ended up writing this. Inspired by a fan written letter and The Way by Fastball.


**A/N:** Totally had the sudden urge to write this while on a one-song binge a couple of weeks ago. This story was written on a little letter that basically said "Dear Moony, Welcome home. Sincerely, Padfoot and Prongs" and the song The Way by Fastball. Beta read by BiggestFanGirl.

* * *

Something wasn't right, that much Remus knew. His body felt different somehow, his mind oddly still. There was something eating at the back of his mind that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about a fight.

Fighting? Why would he want to fight? His son, his baby, Teddy, he was safe and sound with his grandmother, his godfather there to check up on him. Harry would do that; he'd make sure Teddy was alright, safe and sound. He and Tonks made sure of that before they left. Left for where? Where was Tonks? Why weren't either of them there to watch their little boy turn into a man? Why did they leave their precious little boy behind?

A single tear ran down Remus' cheek. It didn't matter now. Remus was comfortable; he didn't have a care in the world; he felt like he could finally breathe for what felt like the first time in his life. Tonks' pregnancy was the worst nine months of his life. Voldemort was strong, he could have passed his own curse onto his defenseless son, his personal anxiety almost killing him on the inside each time he looked upon the small being growing inside her body.

Something began to sniff heavily at his face. It didn't seam threatening, but it was unexpected. The same creature then began to lick at his face, fur and a cold nose nudging his face, neck, and shoulders as he continued to feint sleep. After a particularly harsh inhale and nudge from the nose, Remus opened his eyes.

There stood a black dog's face peering down at him. Upon seeing Remus' amber eyes lock onto him, the dog barked happily and backed up, giving the man some room to get up. He did sit up, which caused the dog to bark once again, turning around on the spot. The act was something so familiar to him, like finding a long lost photo of some previously forgotten day.

"Where did you come from, big guy?" he asked after taking in the sight of the happy black dog for a silent moment. The dog barked once, ran around in front of him a few times before stopping, panting heavily. A smile crossed Remus' face, staggering to his feet. He didn't know why he was laying on his back on a cold hard surface anyway. Under normal circumstances, it hurt his back.

Suddenly, Remus had the feeling that something was coming up behind him fast. He had just managed to step aside as a large stag ran past him and the dog, the dog giving chase to the stag. Remus knew he had to follow, but he wasn't fast enough to ever be able to catch them. He would never close the steadily rising gap between him and the two strange animals, but he had to try.

A sudden pain had him doubled over at this realization, clutching his side. For a few moments, he stayed like this, eyes wide, breaths coming out in short bursts, his hands clutched to his side. Then, before he realized, he was in werewolf form and two seconds later he was following the two before him, gaining ground. He was too busy to notice that he was running on a soft yellow pathway, slowly getting brighter. By the time he was within a few strides of the stag and dog, it looked as if they were running on a ground made of melted galleons, veering into and avoiding each other's pressing bodies. The stag and dog pressed forward, going faster, their legs not working any harder than before. Remus couldn't keep up as the melted ahead of him. He pressed faster, desperate to catch up to them, to see where they were going at such an alarming rate of speed.

Something pressed up against his side in a strange manner. Daring a glance, he saw the hazy form of another werewolf keeping pace with him. He nudged the form back and it gave a soft push back, keeping their flanks pressed together as they ran. The light became blinding and yet Remus knew that he was still going in the right direction, side by side with this strange yet familiar form. Letting out a noise that sounded like a cross between a bark and laugh, Remus could feel his werewolf form melting off, throwing his stride into a stumble before he regained his balance and continued running for a few more steps before being tackled to the ground. The first thing he noticed was that it didn't hurt like it was supposed to. Second was that the grass beneath him was sun baked to the right temperature and the booming laughter that greeted his ears. Opening his eyes, he saw James doubled over and Sirius around his waist, pinning him to the ground.

"See, I told you you couldn't out run me!" Sirius gasped, still laughing.

"Shut up! I tripped over Cresswall over there!" Cresswall got up, muttering dark curses at the three. He looked odd, like he was out of focus or as if he wasn't really there to begin with. But Remus didn't care and the other two didn't seem to notice so he just let it be. "And you cheated!"

"How did he cheat? I saw the whole thing!" James could hardly keep his breath. Sirius rolled off of Remus and stared up at the sky, pulling off his tie in an annoyed act of rebellion against the school uniform. James fell down on Remus' other side, a smile taking up the majority of his face.

Exams were over, school was over, and now they could start their lives as they saw fit.


End file.
